The statement "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" holds significant truth in healthcare. Preventing health issues through a healthy lifestyle and eating habits is far easier than trying to fix damage later. However, in today's world, it's increasingly difficult to protect ourselves from man-made chemicals found in our air, water, and food, which can weaken our body's defenses.

When exposure to chemicals leads to immediate symptoms like difficulty breathing or unconsciousness, it's easy to diagnose. But when exposure is low-dose and long-term, the symptoms develop slowly, often mimicking common disorders. Additionally, people react differently to chemical exposure, and if medical professionals aren't trained to identify the underlying causes, many people suffer from health problems related to toxic chemical buildup.

Toxic chemicals are a legitimate source of worry. And they are everywhere. There is dye in our food, chlorine and fluoride in our water, hormones and antibiotics in our meat, pesticides and fungicides on our fruits and vegetables, phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA) in our food packaging, heavy metals in our kitchens, pressure treated wood in our homes and furniture, electromagnetic frequencies in high-voltage power lines, electromagnetic radiation in our tv’s, cell phones and microwaves, and we even have naturally occurring toxins such as radon in the soil and rock under our homes that we have to contend with. We are constantly bombarded with a toxic chemical soup that our body is often ill equipped to fight. 

Unfortunately, some chemicals are “forever chemicals” meaning that they are extremely resistant to breaking down in both the environment and the human body. As a result, they persist for a long time – sometimes even decades or centuries. Even chemicals banned long ago can still affect our health. In the United States lead was banned in paint and gasoline in 1978, yet lead is still a leading toxin in today’s environment. Why? Lead doesn’t break down and it remains where it was deposited for generations. It continues to live in the layers of paint that coat the walls of homes built before 1978, lives in the soil beneath windowsills that were once scraped, and can make its way into our garden beds and drinking water. The scary part is that most of the body’s lead is stored in bone tissue.

To make matters worse, consumer products are not tightly regulated, and product labels can often be misleading or difficult to understand. Warnings are usually written in very small lettering, much smaller than the promotional language, many types of chemicals are exempt from labelling requirements such as fragrances and phthalates, and consumers often don’t even read labels as they assume that if the product is available for sale, it must be safe.

So, what is one to do?

First and foremost, do not assume that all products are safe.

1) Read labels carefully. Look for green alternatives that boast low or non-toxic ingredients. 

2) Use websites such as ewg.org to research products or apps such as Yuka or Think Dirty. 
3) Avoid harsh cleaners such as ammonia or bleach, or even better, make your own!
4) Avoid using aluminum cooking utensils and products containing aluminum such as aspirin, antacids, antiperspirants, baking powder, toothpaste, infant formula and tea.
5) Purchase a carbon monoxide detector for your home and a radon test kit to determine the level of radon in your home.
6) Add a water filtration system to your home or use a filtered water pitcher for drinking such as the ones sold by Santevia.  
7) Filter your bath and shower water – Santevia sells an excellent bath water filtration system and Hello Klean sells excellent, easy to instal filters for the shower.
8) Eat fish as part of a healthy diet but choose wild over farmed, and limit tuna to a maximum of once per month.
9) Buy organic fruits and vegetables when you can, and when you can’t be sure to wash them well or peel them.

What About Nutrition?

Nutritionally, there are also many things we can utilize to help remove heavy metals and toxins such as lead, mercury, copper, aluminum, cadmium, fluoride from our body or to even help prevent absorption. Vitamins and minerals such as calcium, beta-carotene, zinc, selenium, magnesium, iron, glutathione and Vitamin C, Vitamin D and Vitamin E can all play a role in displacing and neutralizing the effects of heavy metals and other environmental toxins from our body.

Regenerative farming practices can help reduce heavy metal toxicity in the soil by promoting healthy soil ecosystems, which naturally bind and immobilize heavy metals, thus lowering their bioavailability to plants and ultimately the food chain. The New Farm is a book I highly recommend. Brent Preston shares his own journey of moving toward regenerative practices, emphasizing the importance of soil health and sustainability in the face of global climate challenges

Chelating foods can also support the body’s natural detoxification processes by binding to and promoting the excretion of harmful substances through the liver, kidneys or intestines. Add cilantro, garlic, onions, parsley, Brazil nuts, chlorella, spirulina, turmeric, beets, pectin-rich fruits, and leafy greens such as kale and spinach to your nutritional rotation. 

Other Ways To Remove Environmental Toxins From The Body

• sweating
• saunas
• skin brushing                
  
• rebounding
• exercise.

Woman are blessed with a monthly cycle that releases some stored toxins each month. Embrace this built in feature and don't suppress it with birth control pills!

By taking charge of your personal health and making more informed choices, it is possible to reverse symptoms linked to toxin exposure, and mitigate future risk. If you suspect you have symptoms from toxin exposure and need extra help or support, seek out those who can assist such as a Homeopath, Naturopath and/or Holistic Nutritionist.

Ultimately, you are in control, and based on the choices you make the opportunity exists to change the course of health for yourself and your family!